Son Volt – The Search
I barely know anything about Uncle Tupelo, the band that hatched both Jeff Tweedy’s Wilco and Jay Farrar’s Son Volt. Given how much I like what both these two have done since, perhaps I should consider digging a little deeper. Uncle Tupelo pretty much fathered the modern alt-country genre by many accounts, a hypothesis given credence by the number of times they are cited as a formative influence by constituent members of that genre.
Farrar himself isn’t so much a fan of the term, which seems a little odd, because Son Volt are such a squarely alt-country band I can barely think of anything else to say about them, they fit the term so well. Or perhaps that should be, the term fits them so well.
Either way, this is a pitch-perfect record of country rock, suffused with a bit of indie angst when needed, a little jaunty trumpet on occasion, and fuzzy guitars throughout. Jay Farrar’s voice is excellent – slightly nasal and scratchy, but strong and emotive. I love this record, but it’s such a perfect alt-country archetype I barely know what to say about it. What I can say though is that it’s good enough to send me fishing backwards through their catalogue to hear earlier stuff and may just finally give me the kick I need to go and start digging around Uncle Tupelo as well.
Son Volt – The Picture
Son Volt – L Train
Jay Farrar – Cahokian From his solo album Terroir Blues, a few years back.
I really liked this album too. Put me in an alt country phase for about a month.
It is pretty much a 50 minute definition of alt-country. Excellent stuff.
O, callow Toad. Pick up a copy of “Anodyne” and see the true alt-country light.
Many pretenders but no band comes close to Uncle Tupelo in that niche.
Mike, you make me feel so shallow and ignorant. I shall do just that and report back. Promise. It may not be news to you, but I don’t know how many of my regular readers are into Uncle Tupelo, so it might well be rather enlightening to them.